The present invention generally relates to ceiling fans. More particularly, the present invention is related to apparatuses which allow fan blades to be quickly installed and removed from a ceiling fan.
Installing a ceiling fan can be a difficult task because an installer must perform most of the installation work overhead, usually while perched on a ladder or scaffold. Generally, ceiling fans are installed with their blades removed so that the installer does not have the additional difficulty of having to reach between the fan blades, particularly when making the electrical and mechanical connections of the fan to the electrical/support box on the ceiling. After the fan has been mounted and the electrical connections have been made, the blades must be attached to the fan while it is suspended from the ceiling. This places the installer in the awkward position of working overhead, often having to install a large number of fasteners that attach the blades to the fan.
Conventional means for attaching fan blades to a ceiling fan include fan blade holders that require two or more fasteners, typically screws, per fan blade holder. Examples of such blade holders are those that are pre-attached to the fan blades and those that are pre-attached to the fan. The type that is pre-attached to the fan blade requires the installation of at least two fasteners per blade to attach the blade holder to the fan. The type that is pre-attached to the fan requires the installation of at least two fasteners per blade to attach the blade to the blade holder.
Another blade mounting means is the ring-type blade holder disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,487 to Pearce. This type comprises a ring and a number of individual blade holders that are pre-attached to the ring. The ring includes a ring mounting portion that has a number of holes and slots for mounting to the ceiling fan. To install the fan blades to the fan, an installer must first attached each of the fan blades to the ring using two or more screws per blade. Then, the installer must attach the ring to the fan using threaded fasteners at each of the holes in the ring mounting portion. Although the installer can pre-install the blades prior to attaching the ring to the fan and although the slotted holes are used to hold the ring in place while the installer installs the remaining fasteners that attach the ring to the fan, the entire process of attaching the blades to the fan is time consuming and requires many fasteners.
Other means of mounting fan blades to a ceiling fan include the articulated blade holder and the releasable blade holder disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,108,260 and 5,180,284, both to Monrose, III et al. The articulated blade holder allows an installer to attach the fan blades prior to lifting the fan to attach it to the ceiling. To install the fan, the blades are placed in their downward, folded position to give the installer uninterrupted access to the ceiling and portion of the fan above the blades. The releasable blade holder allows an installer to relatively easily attach the fan blades to the fan after it has been attached to the ceiling. The drawback of both of the fan blade mounting means disclosed in the Monrose, III et al. patents is that they require more parts, such as screws, springs and multi-component blade holders, than are desirable.
The present invention provides a fan blade mounting assembly, which allows a plurality of fan blades to be quickly and simply attached to and removed from a ceiling fan. The fan blade mounting assembly includes a fan blade support having an outer periphery, a plurality of receivers and a first rotational axis. The first rotational axis is located generally concentric with the outer periphery of the support. Each receiver is adapted to receive a fan blade coupling tongue. The fan blade mounting assembly further includes a blade lock having a second rotational axis. The blade lock is rotatably connected to the support such that first and second rotational axes are substantially coaxial. The lock is selectively positionable upon rotation of the lock and support relative to one another such that the blade lock selectively engages and retains a coupling tongue within the receiver in which the coupling tongue is inserted.
In one aspect of the invention, the fan blade mounting assembly further includes a cover. The support and the cover are substantially circular planar discs, each having generally horizontal inner and outer surfaces. The inner surface of the cover is located upwardly adjacent the inner surface of the support. The blade lock comprises an annular boss on the cover that projects generally in the direction of the support. The boss is selectively engageable with a locking groove located in a fan blade coupling tongue when the coupling tongue is inserted into one of the receivers. The boss includes a gap which may be selectively aligned with each of the receivers upon rotation of the cover and support with respect to one another. The notch is adapted so that a coupling tongue may be inserted into one of the receivers when the notch is aligned therewith.
In a further aspect of the invention, the cover includes a skirt located at its outer periphery. The skirt projects generally in the direction of the support and is located outwardly adjacent the outer periphery of the support. The skirt includes a notch which is substantially aligned with the gap in the boss in a direction radial to the first and second rotational axes. When the cover and the support are rotated relative to one another, the gap and the notch may be selectively aligned with each of the receivers such that a coupling tongue may be inserted into a receiver.